Adventure Before Dementia.

Nyngan

The next day we said goodbye and set off again. We stayed at the local van park in Nyngan. It was $20 for power and water and the washing machines were only $2 a load. Great, normally we are paying between $4 and $5. We pulled in to find a note on the admin door telling new arrivals to pick a spot and the owner would be back after 4 and to pay then. We did that and made a B-line to the washing machine. We put our first load on and went to have lunch. When we made it back to the washing machine someone had taken ours out and dumped it. Not happy. By the end of the day we had finished all our washing. When it was dry we discovered 2 different socks were missing. Really not happy now.

The next day we went to see the big Bogan. Nyngan is part of the Bogan Shire and the shire gets its name from the Bogan River so it is not a surprise to see the big Bogan with his fishing rod and his esky in the centre of the town. The funny thing is he looks like some guys I know.

Next to the big Bogan is a Cobb and Co coach. It has been restored by Don Burns. Formerly of Nyngan, Don is a master craftsman on Cobb and Co coaches. The one on display originally carried mail and passengers from Coolabah to Byrock via Gongolgon. Don just didn’t work on the Nyngan coach, his work can be found throughout Australia, Japan and America.

We had a little walk around the town and came across a helicopter. Nyngan was flooded in 1990. The townspeople and volunteers (whom had tried to help save the town) were airlifted out of the now inland sea. Two years later the Governor of NSW on behalf of the Australian government donated A2-1022 helicopter to the town. The A2-1022 sat proudly in the park at Nyngan for 19 years. The townspeople were unaware of the significance of the military history of the A2 until in 2009 a former member of the 9th squadron travelled though the town and spotted the aircraft. After a lot of talks between the shire and the Caloundra RSL Sub Branch Team the A2 was transported by road to Caloundra to be restored at the Queensland Air Museum. Nyngan received another helicopter to take the place of the A2. Why was the A2 so important? The helicopter was involved it the most significant Australian action in the Vietnam War, the battle of Long Tan, on the 18th of August 1966. The 9th squadron of the RAAF operated the aircraft in the battle. Wow, I did not expect that. So many small country towns hide little gems for you to find. Amazing.